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Frontiers April 2015 Issue

by more than 40 percent since 2011.
The site also hit its 2013 and 2014
financial targets to reduce its overall
cost forecasts, Starr said.
The plant has its eye on the future,
too. It offers 28 apprenticeships and
70 internships each year, providing
prospective machinists with training
and full-time jobs if ready and selected.
Once teeming with machine shops, the
Portland area has experienced a decline
in this skill set, necessitating the Boeing
classroom instruction, according to Starr.
Daniel Jones is a graduate of the
program. A machinist, he’s been a full-time
employee for four years after spending
four as an intern. He works on the 777
pilot steering column, which includes the
yoke. He’s grateful for the opportunity.
“I don’t know how many companies
are out there where they pay you
to learn on the job,” Jones said. “I
thought that was a unique situation.”
Typically outfitted in safety goggles,
a Boeing Fabrication T-shirt and cargo
shorts, Iesalnieks spends three hours on
a flap-track part. It weighs 115 pounds
(43 kilograms). He uses a crane to move
the piece from a machine that bores
the roughed-in hole to an area for
finishing work, which he performs
with a hand-held tool.
It might keep the daily commute
simple, but there’s plenty of challenge
inside the Boeing Portland gates.
“We produce components for the
wings, for a really important part of the
plane,” Iesalnieks said. “And we have a
sense of pride that we do high-quality
work here.” n
daniel.w.raley@boeing.com
Frontiers is interested in reader stories
for future editorial use. Tell us about your
own experience working in Fabrication
at boeingfrontiers@boeing.com.
Photos: (From far left) Machinist and team
leader John Iesalnieks operates a crane during
737 flap-track boring and honing; team leader
Chris Lambert, left, and first-line leader Klynn
Bragg inspect a completed 737 flap track.
APRIL 2015 29
weren’t involved nearly enough.
“The Toyota philosophy is to share
knowledge to make the world a better
place,” O’Neill said. “We had the tools.
We were missing the culture piece.”
The Boeing Portland Production
System was created, incorporating
more people into decision-making and
problem-solving. Communication was
enhanced. Goals were streamlined.
Innovative ideas exchanged.
Today, white organizational boards,
customized to fit different workstations
and often created by the employees they
track, are filled with job directives, sticky
notes or color-coded magnets. Parts
carts come with instructional cards
attached. Tasks are checked off hourly,
helping spot unexpected shortfalls.
Klynn Bragg, a first-line assembly
manager, once logged 10 to 12 miles
(16 to 20 kilometers) per day on foot in
pursuit of parts across the plant, and
wore a pedometer to prove it. She had
masking tape stuck to her wrists, filled
with scribbled parts numbers. Now
she simply takes a few steps to a
screen and checks it for part location
and identification.
“It’s unbelievable, the change,” Bragg
said. “I’ll never outlive the masking tape.
When I retire, that will be my gift.”
Steve Watson, a Boeing machinist
who also works on 737 flap tracks, came
up with a creative solution for using
floor space. He once was surrounded
by as many as 16 parts-filled carts; it’s
four now. The Panama native suggested
stacking things for efficiency.
“This job is great; I have input in
the work—and that’s the best part,”
Watson said. “If you have something
you think can make an improvement or
make things better in any way, you can
bring it up. We’re willing to try it. We’ve
been very successful.”
Since 2008, Boeing Portland’s
on-time delivery has increased from
70 percent to 97 percent, and overtime
pay has dropped from 20 percent
to 9 percent. Both lost-workday and
recordable-injury rates have decreased